Delhi chokes again as stubble burning continues

In November last year, the Supreme Court had stated that the national capital was no longer liveable and that it had become worse than hell with people dying of various ailments due to air pollution.

The observation came while the Apex court was expressing serious displeasure over the failure of the state machinery to prevent stubble burning.

One would have hoped that in view of the Covid-19 pandemic, pollution levels would dip.

The story shockingly, is different.

The national capital's air quality hit the very poor category on Tuesday morning, the first time since February. 

According to Earth Sciences ministry's Air Quality Early Warning System for Delhi, an increase in farm fires in Punjab, Haryana and neighbouring regions of Pakistan is also going to impact the air quality in Delhi-NCR. 

The statistics reveal a grim picture.

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Anil Sood, Head of the ACM division at the Punjab Remote Sensing Centre in Ludhiana said that from September 21 to Octobber 12 last year, 755 stubble burning incidents were reported in Punjab while 510 incidents were reported in the the same period in 2018. 

In 2020, the officialm said, 2873 such incidents have been reported during the same duration.

To combat air pollution caused by stubble burning, the Centre has allotted Rs 1,700 crore fund to the states. 

According to an environment ministry statement dated October 1, "Currently, 80% subsidy to cooperatives and 50% subsidy to individuals on machineries for stubble is being provided to curb pollution caused due to stubble burning."

But famers are adamant, with many claiming that the government policies haven't trickled down and just aren't enough to solve their stubble issue.
 
Meanwhile, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal called for a joint effort to stop stubble burning. 

He claimed that while farmers of neighbouring states and people of Delhi are bearing the brunt of stubble burning, governments have shut their eyes .

The remarks came even as the field trial of the new bio-decomposer technique started at Hiranki village in Northwest Delhi. The technique provides an option for farmers to dispose of the crop remains without burning the stubble.

• Delhi
• Earth Sciences ministry
• stubble burning
• Air Quality